In the theory that the more information I have, the better off E will be, I googled CVT surgery tonight. I've put it off, honestly, because it freaks me out. I'm a physical therapist, but I work with geriatrics - complete opposite end of the spectrum so not much help, aside from the fact that I can "speak the language" of the medical professionals. I can decipher medical journals, but that isn't always a good thing, which is why I've postponed doing this. I already know the risks involved in general anesthesia. I don't need to be told that there's a risk that my son might not wake up. I have to focus on the positives - if we don't do this now, it will be harder on him later. If we don't do this at all, he will never walk normally or without pain. Would he thank us for that? Probably not. We aren't doing this for the look of his foot - he is perfect to us. My feet are bad, and they aren't bad like his, but I have foot pain frequently and I have to wear rigid orthotics in my shoes for any impact sports/activities and soft orthotics for every day wear.
The nice thing about the research on the Reverse Ponseti Technique is that a) it is almost all recent, and b) the outcomes are really good for the babies that have both the tenotomy and the pinning of the naviculotalar joint. There seems to be some difference in opinion among the authors on whether or not postoperative bracing is needed, although I'm wondering if that is due to whether or not the child has idiopathic CVT (ie - no other major medical diagnoses that could contribute to muscle development) or has CVT accompanied by something else - spina bifida and athrogryposis are two mentioned in conjunction with CVT. Most of the current research on treating CVT centers around a study published by Dobbs in 2006 - the next most recent research I could find in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery was published 20 years earlier! Kind of makes me happy that it took us so long to get pregnant with E...
By the way, when I tried to get access to that article, the Journal diverted me to a page where you had to log in, etc or pay $30. At the bottom of the page though, was a section on if you are a patient or researching something for a patient. If you email the JBJS as a patient, they will apparently email you a copy of the article you're interested in. Good for them! I'm sure it's going to be a tough read, even for someone in the medical field, but it somehow makes me feel better to know the play-by-play that will likely be happening.
So, I got a good review of my anatomy, and I'm feeling a bit better about the conversation with the doctor on Tuesday. Still not feeling good about the anesthesia, but there's not a lot I can do about that. I trust that God is looking out for my little boy, and it's all in His hands.
ETA - didn't realize I only saved and didn't post this one on Sunday when I wrote it...
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